The Catholic Teaching on the Papacy

Definition of the Infallibility of the Roman Pontiff, Ratified by Pope Pius IX at the Vatican Council, Session IV, Chapter 4, July 18, 1870.

"Wherefore, adhering faithfully to the tradition received from the beginning of the Christian faith, for the glory of God our Savior, for the exaltation of the Catholic religion, and the salvation of Christian peoples, We teach and define, with the approbation of the Sacred Council, that it is a dogma divinely revealed, that the Roman Pontiff, when he speaks ex cathedra, that is to say, when discharging the functions of Pastor and Doctor of all Christians, by virtue of his supreme Apostolic authority, he defines a doctrine regarding faith and morals to be held by the universal Church, he fully enjoys by the divine assistance promised to him in blessed Peter, the same infallibility which our Divine Redeemer intended His Church should be endowed with for defining doctrine concerning faith or morals; and consequently such definitions of the Roman Pontiff are of themselves irreformable, and not from the consent of the Church.

"If any one presume, which God forbid, to contradict this Our definition, let him be anathema."

The Catechism of Council of Trent, 1962 edition, Baronius Press, Appendix II pp. 542

The Current Crisis Defined: The Chair of Peter is Usurped (Stolen)

As of right now, there is currently no visible Supreme Pontiff (Pope) functioning in the world. 

This unfortunate reality is unavoidable and can be proved using at least three sources:

(a) Paul IV, The Apostolic Constitution: Cum Ex Apostolatus Officio, February 15, 1559: 

"6. In addition, [by this Our Constitution, which is to remain valid in perpetuity We enact, determine, decree and define:] that if ever at any time it shall appear that any Bishop, even if he be acting as an Archbishop, Patriarch or Primate; or any Cardinal of the aforesaid Roman Church, or, as has already been mentioned, any legate, or even the Roman Pontiff, prior to his promotion or his elevation as Cardinal or Roman Pontiff, has deviated from the Catholic Faith or fallen into some heresy: the promotion or elevation, even if it shall have been uncontested and by the unanimous assent of all the Cardinals, shall be null, void and worthless. . ."

(b) St. Robert Bellarmine's defense of popes said to have erred in faith.*

*To reference, see: Papal Error? A Defense of Popes said to have Erred in Faith by St. Robert Bellarmine, S.J. Doctor of the Church Translated by Ryan Grant and published by Mediatrix Press

(c) The Impossibility of a Heretical Pope

Argument included as a PDF file here.

(d) The findings of the Cardinal Siri investigation (see links below).

Pertinent Interviews

Below are the four interviews which present valuable information regarding the current crisis facing the Church today on the Catholic Restoration V program (recorded in 2019).

Conclusion

Many traditionalist groups that oppose the Second Vatican Council inconsistently declare that the conciliar claimants to the Papacy have all been authentic Vicars of Christ.  These misguided associations misrepresent what the Church has always taught about the Papacy.

A Catholic cannot logically deny the declarations of Vatican II that appeared to be solemnly promulgated by Paul VI, but then simultaneously adhere to the Church's teaching on the infallibility of the Pope.

The inescapable result of both denying Vatican II while recognizing all the conciliar claimants to the Papacy as true Popes is a theological contradiction. The most rational explanation for the current ecclesiastical crisis is that the last six claimants to the Papacy have not been true Vicars of Christ but have all been diabolical usurpers of the Chair of Peter.  The usurpation of the Papacy by agents of the Synagogue of Satan for over six decades has facilitated the tolerance of divorce, adulterous second marriages, abortion and sodomy, thereby leading countless souls down the road to perdition.  The devastating effects which the lack of a true Vicar of Christ has had on the world is becoming increasingly obvious to those "with eyes to see."   Most Catholics are still unaware that the rightful successor to Pope Pius XII was overthrown immediately after his election in 1958.  Regardless, many have begun to realize that something is fundamentally wrong inside the Vatican.  The depravity, sin, and hopelessness that presently has the world in its grip is increasing while Rome either makes no serious effort to counter the world's monstrous offenses against Almighty God or tacitly encourages them.  The endless scandals that have resulted have caused many uniformed Catholics to lose their Faith.   "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge." (Hosea 4:6)

What can we, the Church Militant, do?

Pray, fast, and do penance, but most importantly, do not give up hope in the final Triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary over the whole world. Trust in God to deliver His people from the hands of evildoers, and remember that Christ promised that the Gates of Hell would not prevail over the Rock of Peter. (Matthew 16:18) 

A true Pope will either be chosen by heavenly intervention, as prophesied by holy Catholic mystics, such as Venerable Elizabeth Canori-Mora and Blessed Anna Maria Taigi, or will be provided to the Church through the initiatives of the senior and still valid clergy of the local Church of Rome, perhaps with the encouragement and assistance of faithful Catholic laity worldwide.  In the absence of true Cardinals, the authority to elect the Pope devolves to the valid Clergy of Rome, historically the original electors of the Pope, as affirmed by the great theologians of the Church including St. Robert Bellarmine, Tommaso Cardinal Cajetan, and Msgr. Charles Journet, as well as the Dominican historian, Father Paul C. Perrotta.

Ultimately, in times of utter confusion, desolation and grave emergency, the Universal Church herself, through her members worldwide has the right and duty to select the Roman Pontiff.  Such an event like this happened in 1417 when the resolution for the 39-year long Great Schism was achieved at the Council of Constance.  The election of Pope Martin V was brought about through the participation of cardinals, bishops, priests and deacons.  

In our time, the Catholic Church is now eclipsed by an anti-church that was brought into existence by an anti-council, convoked  by an anti-pope and "ratified" by another antipope.   The "anti-council," was Vatican II, over which the true Pope had no control, and it led to catastrophic consequences for the faithful throughout the Catholic world.  As if anticipating the current ecclesiastical crisis fifty years before it began, the Catholic Encyclopedia of 1908 published a plan of action for future Catholics if chaos in ecclesiastical order were ever caused by the absence of a visible Pope, and a council is convoked to challenge his authority (see quote below):

"A council in opposition to the pope is not representative of the whole Church, for it neither represents the pope who opposes it, nor the absent bishops, who cannot act beyond the limits of their dioceses except through the pope. A council not only acting independently of the Vicar of Christ, but sitting in judgment over him, is unthinkable in the constitution of the Church; in fact, such assemblies have only taken place in times of great constitutional disturbances, when either there was no pope or the rightful pope was indistinguishable from antipopes. In such abnormal times the safety of the Church becomes the supreme law, and the first duty of the abandoned flock is to find a new shepherd, under whose direction the existing evils may be remedied." ("Councils," The Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, 1908, p. 426)

Further Reading: From Chiesa Viva - "Grave Reasons of State" (PDF)

Click Here for the PDF version of "Grave Reasons of State" as featured in the magazine, Chiesa Viva.